How do we deal with this tactical twist? And what does it mean?
MIREILLE, who was born in Belgium to a white, middle-class Christian family, blew herself to pieces last month in a suicide attack against American troops near Baghdad.In one of the most extraordinary tales of Islamic radicalisation, she is thought to be the first white Western woman to carry out a suicide bombing.
Belgian investigators, who arrested 14 people associated with her, are keeping the 38-year-old woman’s true identity secret, but details have started to emerge. She was from the southern Belgian town of Charleroi, married to a Moroccan and converted to an extreme form of Islam.
“This is how she came into contact with the organisation which allowed her to become a fighter for jihad,” said Glenn Audenaert, the federal police director. Her Belgian documents show that she travelled with her husband to Iraq. On November 9 she blew herself up in a car bomb attack on a US military convoy, killing — according to conflicting reports — either only herself, or six people. Her Belgian passport was near by. Her husband was killed by American troops in a separate incident.
Security sources said that they knew of no other western European women suicide bombers. Al-Qaeda recently appealed for white converts to become suicide bombers, because it was easier for them to travel and evade detection before carrying out their attacks.
The enemy today is not just "Middle Eastern men". Now it is women, and individuals of European descent. Short of annihilating Islam as a cancer among us, destroying it root and branch, how do we combat the Islamist enemy without destroying our most preciouis liberties? Must we recognize Islam an exception to our pincipled support of religious liberty that liberty might survive? Or do we travel the path of pure principle, even if the cost of our lives or our liberties if the enemy is successful?
Sadly, I do not know. How do we balance the lives of many against the liberty of our enemy?
Kenneth Lee Boyd killed his estranged wife and father-in-law in 1988 is scheduled to be the next condemned murder executed in the United States on Friday -- the 1000th since the resumption of the capital punishment in 1977.
In a recent interview, he made the following statement -- one with which I fully agree.
"I feel like I should be in prison for the rest of my life."
As a death penalty supporter, I have to agree.
And the rest of your life ends at 2:00 a.m. on Friday, December 2, 2005 -- bringing justice for those you murdered 17 years ago.
UPDATE: He got what he deserved this morning, December 2, 2005.
Let’s set aside the offensive title of the show -- “Merry F#%$in’ Christmas”.
“Merry Christmas. Tonight we celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, whose mom, Mary, just happens to be a virgin—even after she apparently gave birth to Jesus. At least that is what the Catholic Church would have you believe. “Tom Cruise is taking a lot of s--- for belonging to a religion, Scientology, that believes aliens came to this planet 75 million years ago. That is nothing. I was raised Catholic. We believe Mary was a virgin and Jesus ended up walking on water, creating a bottomless jug of wine and rising from the dead. Oh, yeah, and Tom Cruise is crazy. “Listen, Christmas is built on a line of bulls---. Do I believe there was a baby Jesus? You bet your ass I do. But I believe that nine months before he was born someone sure as s--- banged the hell out of his mom.”
Ask yourself a simple question – would any media outlet air such vile crap about Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, or Hinduism and the core beliefs of any of those faiths at any time of the year – much less during a period that is particularly sacred to the faith in question? I think we all know the answer, hence the absence of Jerry Seinfeld’s “Happy F#%$in’ Passover” or similar “holiday” specials.
Do I believe this idiot has the legal right to say such things? Yes, I do -- just like the Klan and the Nazis have every right to spread their preferred brand of hatred, so do Leary and the Comedy Channel. I do not support government action to punish this speech which I despise.
Do I believe there should be consequences for such rabid anti-Christian blasphemy? Yes, I do – in the form of the destruction of Denis Leary’s career and of the Comedy Channel's economic viability. We believers can make both happen if we are prepared to stand up and flex our economic muscles to support our faith.
From Jeff Jacoby’s latest column.
''We're trying to be inclusive," says the Boston parks commissioner, explaining why the white spruce that was sent from Nova Scotia under a giant banner reading ''Merry Christmas, Boston" became a ''holiday tree" on her department's website. But suppressing the language, symbols, or customs of Christians in a predominantly Christian society is not inclusive. It's insulting.It's discriminatory, too. Hanukkah menorahs are never referred to as ''holiday lamps" -- not even the giant menorahs erected in Boston Common and many other public venues each year by Chabad, the Hasidic Jewish outreach movement. No one worries that calling the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by its name -- or even celebrating it officially, as the White House does with an annual ''iftaar" dinner -- might be insensitive to non-Muslims. In this tolerant and open-hearted nation, religious minorities are not expected to keep their beliefs out of sight or to squelch their traditions lest someone, somewhere, take offense. Surely the religious majority shouldn't be expected to either.
As a practicing Jew, I don't celebrate Christmas. There is no Christmas tree in my home, my kids don't write letters to Santa Claus, and I don't attend church on Dec. 25 (or any other date). Does the knowledge that scores of millions of my fellow Americans do all those things make me feel excluded or offended? On the contrary: It makes me feel grateful -- to live in a land where freedom of religion shelters the Hanukkah menorah in my window no less than the Christmas tree in my neighbor's. That freedom is a reflection of America's Judeo-Christian culture, and a principal reason why, in this overwhelmingly Christian country, it isn't only Christians for whom Christmas is a season of joy. And why it isn't only Christians who should make a point of saying so.
Quite correct – the public marking of the Christmas holiday is not discriminatory. Rather, it is demands to mask its celebration in euphemisms that threaten to ultimately destroy religious freedom in America. After all, if the beliefs of the majority must yield to the voices of a few hyper-sensitive individuals demanding "inclusion", how much longer until thoe same restrictions fall upon the practitioners of minority faiths?
They have listened to critics of the Flight 93 “Crescent of Embrace” design and taken another crack at memorializing the site where heroes died. Is it an improvement?
Designers of a Flight 93 memorial have made a bowl-shaped piece of land its centerpiece, replacing a crescent-shape design that some critics had said was a symbol honoring terrorists, officials announced Wednesday.The new design for the memorial, to be built on the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, crash near Shanksville, features most of the details of the original, which was unveiled in September after a worldwide design competition.
But a round, bowl-shaped area would replace a "Crescent of Embrace," a crescent-shaped cluster of maple trees.
In September, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., criticized the design in a letter to the National Park Service Director, saying many questioned the shape "because of the crescent's prominent use as a symbol in Islam _ and the fact that the hijackers were radical Islamists."
Paul Murdoch, president of Paul Murdoch Architects, which designed the memorial, had called the criticism of the crescent an "unfortunate diversion," but said they were sensitive to the concerns.
In both old and new versions of the design, a tower with 40 wind chimes welcomes visitors to the site, where they can then walk to a large circular field ringed by 40 groves of red and sugar maple trees, symbolizing the 40 passengers and crew who died. There will also be pedestrian trails, a plaza from which to view the crash site, and a white marble wall with the victims' names inscribed.
I’m still not in love with the design, but will concede that it is a movement in the right direction.
MORE AT Michelle Malkin, A Blog For All, JunkYardBlog, David Boyd, and Local Liberty.
Why are time and money being spent to study this issue? What is the redeeming social value of research on geriatric prostitutes?
Prostitutes as old as 70 continue to work in rural Australia, pushed out of the cities due to strong competition from younger and more attractive sex workers, the author of a study says.* * *
The research, by John Scott of the University of New England, examined prostitution in rural areas of New South Wales state. He found the sex industry has flourished in rural towns, with many prostitutes making regular visits.
"I've likened some of them to travelling musicians, in that some of them might be based in metropolitan centres and they go out and travel -- they tour the bush," Scott told Reuters.
[Insert Your Joke Here]
He said a sex worker might pass through a country town every couple of months, but would advertise in advance and book up appointments. He said sex workers in rural areas tended to be older, and provide more companionship than city sex workers."In a business that is based on looks and age a lot of the time, it became increasingly hard for workers as they progressed in age," Scott said.
Hookers who are old enough to qualify for Social Security? Yeah, it might be increasingly hard for them, but I think it would make customers increasingly soft. Maybe there is a reason all they want is cuddling and conversation
Once upon a time, Great Britain was a Christian country.
Today it seems that it has become simply one more province of Eurabia.
After all, why else would a case like this ever come to pass?
An eye specialist has accepted undisclosed damages after claiming that he was forced out of his job by Muslim colleagues.Joseph Erian took the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust to an employment tribunal, stating that he was made to resign from the ophthalmology department of Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, after staff there discovered that he was a Christian. The tribunal, which started earlier this month, ended when the trust offered an out-of-court settlement and admitted that the problems surrounding Dr Erian’s case “were not his fault”.
And lest you think this was not really a case of the hospital conceding guilt, consider this.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust initially denied all the allegations. But the tribunal was halted when the Trust’s lawyers agreed to pay undisclosed damages.
In other words, they saw that they were losing.
You might ask how he was forced to resign. It turned out that a short time after Dr. Erian's colleagues discovered that he was a Coptic Christian from Egypt, his job was suddenly and without warning advertised as being available. What's more, at least two other physicians from the same hospital are pursuing cases against it.
Dr. Erian's case is only the sixth successful one brought in the UK under the religious discrimination statute.
MORE AT: Western Resistance
Look who’s making the big bucks pimping her dead son.
The State University College at Oneonta has booked a Fox News Channel military analyst to counter a lecture tonight by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.Lt. Col. Scott Rutter, who retired from the Army in November 2003 after leading a mechanized infantry battalion into Baghdad, will give a presentation sponsored by the student-run College Union Activities Council at noon Friday in the Hunt Union Square.
CUAC is also sponsoring an appearance by Sheehan at 8 p.m. tonight in the Hunt Union Ballroom.
Both events are part of "Making a Difference Week," said CUAC lecture chairwoman Erin Dromgoole, who helped book both speakers earlier this month.
Sheehan is getting paid $11,000 for the hour-long talk, while Rutter will receive his standard fee of $600 for his presentation, Dromgoole said.
I’ve got no problem with speakers being paid – even generously – for their efforts. But $11,000 for this brainless anti-American witch whose book sales are tanking as Americans reject her strident falsehoods? Seems a bit much to me, especially when compared to the asking price for a real American hero.
But then again, maybe it has a lot to do the relative availability of such speakers. Distinguished veterans who support the war are pretty common – traitorous hags who will dishonor their dead children are much harder to come by.
MORE AT: Michelle Malkin, Right Politics, Eric's Boredom Revealed, Urban Grounds, The Mind of IrishWalsh, Bird of Paradise and Cake Or Death?.
Liberals used to support the right of people to say that which is unpopular. Now they try to shut down speech with which they disagree. So it comes as a real surprise that Ake Green was found not guilty of violating hate speech laws in Sweden for preaching a very traditional sermon about homosexuality.
Sweden's highest court on Tuesday acquitted a Pentecostal pastor accused of hate speech for having denounced homosexuality as a "cancerous tumor" in a sermon.Ake Green's contentious sermon in 2003 was protected by freedom of speech and religion under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Supreme Court said in a 16-page ruling.
Green, 64, became the first clergyman convicted under Sweden's hate crimes legislation, when a lower court found him guilty of inciting hatred against homosexuals. An appeals court overturned the ruling earlier this year, but Sweden's chief prosecutor appealed the acquittal to the Supreme Court.
Green said the Supreme Court ruling was a relief both for him other preachers.
Sweden's highest court on Tuesday acquitted a Pentecostal pastor accused of hate speech for having denounced homosexuality as a "cancerous tumor" in a sermon.Ake Green's contentious sermon in 2003 was protected by freedom of speech and religion under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Supreme Court said in a 16-page ruling.
Green, 64, became the first clergyman convicted under Sweden's hate crimes legislation, when a lower court found him guilty of inciting hatred against homosexuals. An appeals court overturned the ruling earlier this year, but Sweden's chief prosecutor appealed the acquittal to the Supreme Court.
Green said the Supreme Court ruling was a relief both for him other preachers.
The trial ended earlier this month, but the verdict was not issued until Tuesday.
The decision cited European human rights laws to uphold the right to preach the Gospel unmolested by government interference.
Despite the upcoming confirmation hearing for Samuel Alito and the stalled hearings on other Bush nominees – not to mention the delay in sending a constitutional amendment to the states banning gay marriage – Arlen Specter still has too much time on his hands. Now he wants to tell the Eagles how to deal with Terrell Owens.
Sen. Arlen Specter accused the National Football League and the Philadelphia Eagles of treating Terrell Owens unfairly and said he might refer the matter to the antitrust subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chairs.Specter said at a news conference Monday in Harrisburg it was "vindictive and inappropriate" for the league and the Eagles to forbid the all-pro wide receiver from playing and prevent other teams from talking to him.
"It's a restraint of trade for them to do that, and the thought crosses my mind, it might be a violation of antitrust laws," Specter said, though some other legal experts disagreed.
The Eagles suspended Owens on Nov. 5 for four games without pay for "conduct detrimental to the team, and deactivated him with pay on Sunday after the suspension ended.
Arbitrator Richard Bloch said last week the team's actions were supported by the labor agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association.
How did the Pennsylvania RINO and expert in arcane Scottish law come to this conclusion?
Specter emphasized that he was "not a supporter of Terrell Owens.""I am madder than hell at what he has done in ruining the Eagles' season," the Pennsylvania Republican said. "I think he's in flagrant breach of his contract and I believe the Eagles would be within their rights in not paying him another dime or perhaps even suing him for damages."
But Specter said, "I do not believe, personally, that it is appropriate to punish him (by forcing him to sit out the rest of the season). He's not committed a crime, he's committed a breach of contract. And what they're doing against him is vindictive."
Uh, Arlen, you are right – it is vindictive. But the Eagles are fulfilling the terms of T.O.’s contract – paying him every penny they legally owe him. They are simply not using the services they are paying for. That is simply a business decision. If they want to spend that money and keep him benched, they are within their rights to do so. It is no different than what goes on in radio and television – stations buy the rights to syndicated shows but to keep them out of the hands of rival stations, but do not broadcast them.
And Senator, therea re some folks who are much more versed in sports and labor law than you are who have a very different view on the matter.
"The arbitrator's decision is consistent with our collective bargaining agreement, and it simply enforced the terms of the player's contract," Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman, said Monday."To have an antitrust violation, you have to have a contract or conspiracy in restraint of trade," said Robert McCormick, a law professor at Michigan State University.
Matthew J. Mitten, director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University, said, "We're in the labor arena, not antitrust."
And quite simply, Specter, there is no federal issue here – so shut up and let the Eagles take the course of action that is best for the NFL.
One of the arguments against the death penalty is that there is always the possibility of executing a wrongly convicted person. I’ll concede that is true, and may have happened at different times. But what is the cost – in innocent lives – of not executing murderers?
Opponents of capital punishment give us names of innocents who would have been killed by the state had their convictions stood and they been actually executed, and a few executed convicts whom they believe might have been innocent. But proponents can name men and women who really were -- not might have been -- murdered by convicted murderers while in prison. The murdered include prison guards, fellow inmates, and innocent men and women outside of prison.In 1974, Clarence Ray Allen ordered a 17-year-old young woman, Mary Sue Kitts, murdered because she knew of Allen's involvement in a Fresno, Calif., store burglary.
After his 1977 trial and conviction, Allen was sentenced to life without parole.
According to San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders, "In Folsom State Prison, Allen cooked up a scheme to kill the witnesses who testified against him so that he could appeal his conviction and then be freed because any witnesses were dead -- or scared into silence." As a result, three more innocent people were murdered -- Bryon Schletewitz, 27, Josephine Rocha, 17, and Douglas White, 18.This time, a jury sentenced Allen to death, the only death sentence ever handed down by a Glenn County (California) jury. That was in 1982.
Had Ray been executed his three later victims would likely still be alive today. Instead, the creature who coldly initiated their deaths is still alive – his execution repeatedly postponed by a legal system more concerned about possible violations of his rights than about justice for his victims and their families.
Similarly, there is the horrific case of Jack Abbot, freed a killer freed from prison at the behest of the celebrity effete.
Perhaps the most infamous case of a death penalty opponent directly causing the murder of an innocent is that of novelist Norman Mailer. In 1981, Mailer utilized his influence to obtain parole for a bank robber and murderer named Jack Abbott on the grounds that Abbott was a talented writer.Six weeks after being paroled, Abbott murdered Richard Adan, a 22-year-old newlywed, aspiring actor and playwright who was waiting tables at his father's restaurant.
Mailer's reaction? "Culture is worth a little risk," he told the press. "I'm willing to gamble with a portion of society to save this man's talent."
In other words, for the sake of “art” and “culture”, Mailer is willing to risk the lives of innocent, unimportant victims, men and women who do not make a significant contribution to the world.
I dread the possibility of a wrongful execution. But it is better that we take such a risk than knowingly allowing a rabid dog to run wild, attacking and killing at will.
Filmmaker Michael Moore weighed in on the GM plant closings by saying "General Motors continues its destruction of cities like Flint and the American middle class," according to USA Today. As though GM doesn't want to sell cars, make money and strengthen communities. But if Moore thinks he can do a better job, he could hire the laid-off workers and build cars.
Ouch!
Are all men potential molesters of kids? Apparently so, according to Qantas and Air New Zealand.
Two airlines "down under" are under fire after acknowledging their policy of not allowing an unaccompanied child passenger to sit next to a man.The policy emerged when a New Zealand man said he was asked by airline staff to move because an unaccompanied minor had been assigned the seat next to him.
Mark Worsley was told to swap seats with a woman sitting nearby, who then moved into the seat next to the boy, about eight years old, for the 80-minute flight.
"I was pretty shocked -- I think most people would be," the 37-year-old shipping manager and father of two said Tuesday.
"I complied straight away and moved seats. But as I sat on the plane during the flight I got more and more angry about it."
Part of the problem, Worsley said, was that the plane was full. When the flight attendant arranged the seat swap, "certainly there was enough disruption that people in the immediate vicinity would have heard what was going on. I felt totally embarrassed."
He had later confronted the airline staff, who confirmed the company policy.
Now given what we know about child abuse, especially from certain recent cases, it can come from either sex. To demand a man move simply because of his gender is absurd. Not only that, it is intolerable.
Unfortunately, some don’t see it that way – and they are in charge of enforcing laws against sex discrimination.
The airlines did win support from one quarter. Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro, a government appointee, commended Qantas and Air New Zealand for their efforts to keep child passengers safe.Kiro said she doubted the policy was meant as a slur against men.
It may not have been meant as a slur against men, but it certainly was a slur against men. This ding-dong needs to be pursued out of office by a mob lobbing rotten vegetables.
Oh, yeah -- and the authorities down-under need to correct thsi offense against the dignity of men.
Well, now we know why that guy ran on to the field during the Eagle’s game against the Packers on Sunday. He was spreading his mother’s ashes, since she was an Eagle’s fan.
Christopher Noteboom, of Tempe, Ariz., ran onto the field holding a plastic bag, leaving a cloud of fine powder behind.As he reached the 30-yard line, he dropped to his knees, made the sign of the cross and laid down on his stomach. Security personnel reached him moments later and he offered no resistance as he was escorted from the field.
The 33-year-old Noteboom, a native of Doylestown, said his mother died of emphysema in January 2005, shortly before the Eagles' Super Bowl appearance.
"She never cared for any other team except the Eagles," Noteboom told WPVI-TV after he was released from custody Monday. "I know that the last handful of ashes I had are laying on the field, and will never be taken away. She'll always be part of Lincoln Financial Field and of the Eagles."
Noteboom, a bar owner in Arizona, was charged with defiant trespass. He has a hearing scheduled for Dec. 27.
"It's bizarre, but we have a zero tolerance for people who run on the field," Police Inspector William Colarulo said. "We especially have a zero tolerance for people who run onto the field and dump an unknown substance in a stadium full of people."
Eagles spokeswoman Bonnie Grant said the team has declined requests to spread ashes on the field.
You know, if they changed their minds on allowing human remains to be spread around the field, perhaps they could assign such duties to Terrell Owens – I hear he isn’t working right now.
Jonah's mama, Lucianne Goldberg, has this up on her site today. I think it is timely and needs frequent repetition to fend off the cultural attacks that come this time of year.
This is a Christmas tree.
It is not a Hanukkah bush, it is not Allah plant, it is not a Holiday hedge.
It is a Christmas tree.
Say it...Christmas, Christmas, Christmas
Paul Martin's Liberal government fell today in Canada when it failed a no-confidence vote.
The short-lived 38th Parliament met its demise on Monday night, setting the stage for the longest election campaigns in two decades, as the Liberal government was defeated in a no-confidence vote at the hands of all three opposition parties and the country was launched into official election mode.The Liberals lost the vote in the House of Commons 133 to 171, beginning a series of events that will propel voters toward the ballot boxes, likely on Jan. 23.
Prime Minister Paul Martin will officially call a federal election on Tuesday.
It appears that the new election will be held somewhere around January 23, 2006.
It strikes me that there are two vital questions to ask here, questions that the whole world wants answered.
1) What will be the outcome of the election -- a change in national leadership or a continued Liberal domination of Canadian politics?
2) Ig that funny looking round stuff is called Canadian bacon down here in the states, what do they call our long strips of bacon in Soviet Kanuckistan?
Absolutely unbelievable! Cultural sensitivity for the foreigners among us -- but none for the majority of Americans!
Look at this sign in Lowes in Austin, Texas (the official loony liberal reservation here in the Lone Star State)
As the battle over Christmas continues across America this year, consumers are taking notice for themselves.
In Austin, Texas, for instance, a banner was displayed this weekend at a new Lowe's home-improvement store.
In English, the sign reads: "Now Here! Fresh Cut Holiday Trees."
But in Spanish, the sign reads: "Now Here! Fresh Cut Christmas Trees."
"It's OK to offend all the English-speaking Christians, but no, not the Spanish speakers. They may be just visiting," a WorldNetDaily reader in Austin said.
"By the way," the reader noted, "they only had 'Christmas' tree stands for their fresh cut 'Holiday' trees. P.S. Merry Christmas."
But even up in the Dallas area, there are still those out to suppress any possible hint of what the major December holiday celebration is in this country.
"Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Legal Institute filed a federal civil rights lawsuit today against the Plano Independent School District for a discriminatory policy that censors the Christmas religious expression of students and their parents."With that, all believers cheer forth a holy AMEN.
"Christmas colors, school officials have prohibited students from exchanging candy canes and pencils with religious messages on them, using reindeer symbols, or writing ‘Merry Christmas’ on greeting cards to U.S. soldiers because the phrase might ‘offend someone.’ The district has even applied its policy to parents involved in school activities, barring them from exchanging ‘religious’ Christmas items with other parents."
This surely will bring much protest from the Bible belt Texans. Particularly the Baptists should rise up en masse, sending those school "educators" a truck load of Merry, Blessed Christmas cards, all pictured with baby Jesus and prayers for repentance on the part of those who are into devilment decision making.
"’The district’s policy is what is offensive. It is offensive to the 96 percent of Americans who celebrate Christmas,’ McCaleb said. ‘If the district truly wants to avoid offending someone, then they will change their incredibly restrictive and unconstitutional policy.
"’The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that public schools must prohibit the distribution of candy canes or Christmas cards. They have never ruled that you can’t say ‘Merry Christmas’ in the public schools. These attempts to stifle all religious expression and sanitize Christmas of all religious content are tiring to the overwhelming majority of Texans and all Americans.’"
That we have to resort to litigation to recognize the cultural traditions of the majority is an absurdity and an obscenity. I'm all for protecting the rights of the minority -- but when will the rights of the overwhelming majority be given anything akin to equal respect?
UPDATE: Christmas wins!
So, folks, what do you think?
Eric from "Eric's Grumbles Before The Grave" supplied the template and engineered out some bugs.
Hube from "Colossus of Rhodey" supplied the inspiration for the banner.
I picked the colors and did the actual banner work.
Your serious and constructive comments are solicited.
I have to wonder, given the polling results on the question of troop morale.
Democrats fumed last week at Vice President Dick Cheney's suggestion that criticism of the administration's war policies was itself becoming a hindrance to the war effort. But a new poll indicates most Americans are sympathetic to Cheney's point.Seventy percent of people said criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale — with 44 percent saying morale is hurt "a lot," according to a poll taken by RT Strategies.
Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent say criticism hurts morale.
The results surely will rankle many Democrats, who argue that it is patriotic to call attention to what they say are flaws in President Bush's strategy for Iraq. But the survey itself cannot be dismissed as a partisan attack. Thomas Riehle, a Democrat, and Lance Tarrance, a veteran GOP pollster, make up the RT in RT Strategies.Their poll also indicates many Americans are skeptical of Democratic complaints about the war. Just three out of 10 adults accept that Democrats are leveling criticism because they think this will help U.S. efforts in Iraq. A majority think the motive is to "gain a partisan political advantage."
My take? I believe that the American public does not want the war in Iraq to continue one second longer than it needs to – but knows damn well that any exit strategy except victory for the US and a functioning, secure Iraq is unacceptable. That means that Americans are not in bed with MoveOn.Org and Cindy Sheehan, but are much closer to the position advocated by the Bush Administration. And even more importantly, the American people do not see the Surrender Party’s words a s being based upon patriotism – they recognize the newly vocal rhetoric as nothing more than political hackery of the most insidious kind, morale-sapping partisanship that does nothing to help reach the goal of a true peace with honor.
Having made a plea of guilty to these charges, Cunningham needs to do jail time.
Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday morning to conspiring to take bribes in exchange for using his influence to help a defense contractor get business.He also pleaded guilty to one count of income tax evasion.
U.S. District Larry A. Burns scheduled Cunninghman's sentencing for Feb. 27.
Cunningham, an eight-term Republican congressman, had been under scrutiny for months for his ties to defense contractors and their officials.
Federal officials launched investigations after The San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service reported in June that a defense contractor who won tens of millions of dollars in Pentagon contracts had taken a $700,000 loss after purchasing Cunningham's Del Mar house.
Cunningham sold the house for $1.675 million in November 2003, but the buyer, defense contractor Mitchell Wade, never moved in and almost immediately put it back on the market. Wade sold it 261 days later for $975,000.
Prosecutors contend the overpayment was a bribe.
The congressman, who sits on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, used the proceeds of the sale to buy a $2.55 million house in Rancho Santa Fe, which he has since put up for sale.
Cunningham, a former Navy Top Gun pilot, was first elected to Congress in 1990. The 63-year-old Republican represents a district that stretches from northern San Diego to Escondido and San Marcos and then along the coast from Carlsbad to Del Mar. He has vowed not to seek reelection and plans to retire next year, at the end of his term.
This corrupt politician is a disgrace to the country he once served, before he decided to serve himself instead. He needs to be out of office much sooner than the end of his term -- even if it hurts the GOP.
UPDATE: Cunningham has resigned in disgrace. I’m glad to hear it.
Ordinarily, I would have deep admiration for any performer who announced plans to boycott Red China over the torture and cruelty that regularly occurs in that country. After all, that regressive dictatorship oppresses nearly one quarter of humanity, and the world ought to make their liberation one of its priorities.
Unfortunately, Sir Paul McCartney doesn’t give a crap about the lack of human freedom in China. He’s refusing to perform there because of the killing of dogs and cats for fur.
The ex-Beatle was given a preview screening of undercover footage taken in a fur market in Guangzhou, southern China.Dogs and cats are shown being thrown from the top deck of a converted bus onto concrete pavements.
In another piece of footage, cats are seen squirming inside a sack before being thrown into a vat of boiling water.
Smiling, laughing workers are also filmed senselessly beating the animals to death.
The report, which was filmed by an investigator linked to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) campaign group, will be shown on Monday night on the BBC's Six O'clock News.
Sir Paul and wife Heather were close to tears as they watched the undercover report.
Sir Paul told the BBC: "This is barbaric. Horrific. It's like something out of the dark ages. And they seem to get a kick out of it. They're just sick, sick people.
"I wouldn't even dream of going over there to play, in the same way that I wouldn't go to a country that supported apartheid."This is just disgusting. It's just against every rule of humanity. I couldn't go there. If they want to consider themselves a civilised nation they're going to have to stop this."
So let me get this straight. The political oppression and general violations of human rights that occur on a daily basis in Red China and which have been known for years are not sufficient to get McCartney to stand up to the butchers in Beijing – but cruelty to animals put the Communist dictatorship beyond the pale.
Sir Paul – where are your priorities and sense of proportion? Why are animals more important to you than human beings?
Anti-war activists claim that this war is being fought by poorer, lest-educated minorities for the benefit of the white monied elite. Interestingly enough, the demographics of today's military shows something very different.
According to a comprehensive study of all enlistees for the years 1998-99 and 2003 that The Heritage Foundation just released, the typical recruit in the all-volunteer force is wealthier, more educated and more rural than the average 18- to 24-year-old citizen is. Indeed, for every two recruits coming from the poorest neighborhoods, there are three recruits coming from the richest neighborhoods.
Consider these statistics on education and socio-economic status.
If, for example, we consider the education of every recruit, 98% joined with high-school diplomas or better. By comparison, 75% of the general population meets that standard. Among all three-digit ZIP code areas in the USA in 2003 (one can study larger areas by isolating just the first three digits of ZIP codes), not one had a higher graduation rate among civilians than among its recruits.In fact, since the 9/11 attacks, more volunteers have emerged from the middle and upper classes and fewer from the lowest-income groups. In 1999, both the highest fifth of the nation in income and the lowest fifth were slightly underrepresented among military volunteers. Since 2001, enlistments have increased in the top two-fifths of income levels but have decreased among the lowest fifth.
Oh, and about the breakdown between black and white -- the differnce between those serving in the military and the public at large is not significant. Whites constitutes 75.8% of the military, and 77.4% of the public at large. Blacks are 14.1% of the military, and 14.6% of the entire population. In neither case is the gap at significant variance from the nation as a whole.
Who wants to bet that the facts don't get int the way of the rhetoric of those who want to attack the president, the war, and the American military?
One of my high school clasmates is married to a neo-natal specialist who fights (with great success) to save children born prematurely, as early as the fifth and sixth months of pregnancy. A few blocks down the street is the office of one of the most aggressive abortionists in the United States, where a so-called healer takes the lives of babies into to the eighth month of pregnancy. I've long been struck by the conflict between their work.
Accoding to a report in Great Britain, at leaset 50 babies a year are born alive following abortion.
A GOVERNMENT agency is launching an inquiry into doctors’ reports that up to 50 babies a year are born alive after botched National Health Service abortions.The investigation, by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), comes amid growing unease among clinicians over a legal ambiguity that could see them being charged with infanticide.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which regulates methods of abortion, has also mounted its own investigation.
Its guidelines say that babies aborted after more than 21 weeks and six days of gestation should have their hearts stopped by an injection of potassium chloride before being delivered. In practice, few doctors are willing or able to perform the delicate procedure.
For the abortion of younger foetuses, labour is induced by drugs in the expectation that the infant will not survive the birth process. Guidelines say that doctors should ensure that the drugs they use prevent such babies being alive at birth.
In practice, according to Stuart Campbell, former professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at St George’s hospital, London, a number do survive.
“They can be born breathing and crying at 19 weeks’ gestation,” he said. “I am not anti-abortion, but as far as I am concerned this is sub-standard medicine.”
The number of terminations carried out in the 18th week of pregnancy or later has risen from 5,166 in 1994 to 7,432 last year. Prenatal diagnosis for conditions such as Down’s syndrome is increasing and foetuses with the condition are routinely aborted, even though many might be capable of leading fulfilling lives. In the past decade, doctors’ skill in saving the lives of premature babies has improved radically: at least 70%-80% of babies in their 23rd or 24th week of gestation now survive long-term.
Abortion on demand is allowed in Britain up to 24 weeks — more than halfway through a normal pregnancy and the highest legal limit for such terminations in Europe. France and Germany permit “social” abortions only up to the 10th and 12th weeks respectively.
Doctors are increasingly uneasy about aborting babies who could be born alive. “If viability is the basis on which they set the 24-week limit for abortion, then the simplest answer is to change the law and reduce the upper limit to 18 weeks,” said Campbell, who last year published a book showing images of foetuses’ facial expressions and “walking” movements taken with a form of 3-D ultrasound.
The Department of Health was alerted three months ago to the issue of babies surviving failed terminations. In August clinicians in Manchester published an analysis of 31 such babies born in northwest England between 1996 and 2001.
“If a baby is born alive following a failed abortion and then dies (because of lack of care), you could potentially be charged with murder,” said Shantala Vadeyar, a consultant obstetrician at South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust, who led the study.
Ultimately, it comes down to a question of human life. Why does any society countenance the killing of viable children? And if the most vulnerable among us are declared without worth and subject to extermination while still in the womb, what rights do they have if they manage to escape their intended fates and take a first breath? Does the fact that these children are now unquestionably alive imbue them with full human rights?
Or is a woman seeking an abortion entitled to a dead baby?
In short, when are we, as a society, going to recognize the critical disconnect between our medical abilty to save babies born at increasingly early stages of pregnancy and the legal willingness to take the lives of such infants?
We always hear about the evil of the Crusades and the righteous indignation of Muslims over a series of wars that provide a poor witness to the Gospel. However, was Islam an innocent victim, or were the crusades a response to a long series of Muslim religious conquest of Christian lands and oppression of Christian believers?
Take a look at the timeline and decide. I'll put Muslim jihad against Christian lands in bold, and Christian assaults on Islamic lands in italics.
630 Two years before Muhammad’s death of a fever, he launches the Tabuk Crusades, in which he led 30,000 jihadists against the Byzantine Christians. He had heard a report that a huge army had amassed to attack Arabia, but the report turned out to be a false rumor. The Byzantine army never materialized. He turned around and went home, but not before extracting “agreements” from northern tribes. They could enjoy the “privilege” of living under Islamic “protection” (read: not be attacked by Islam), if they paid a tax (jizya).This tax sets the stage for Muhammad’s and the later Caliphs’ policies. If the attacked city or region did not want to convert to Islam, then they paid a jizya tax. If they converted, then they paid a zakat tax. Either way, money flowed back to the Islamic treasury in Arabia or to the local Muslim governor.
632-634 Under the Caliphate of Abu Bakr the Muslim Crusaders reconquer and sometimes conquer for the first time the polytheists of Arabia. These Arab polytheists had to convert to Islam or die. They did not have the choice of remaining in their faith and paying a tax. Islam does not allow for religious freedom.
633 The Muslim Crusaders, led by Khalid al-Walid, a superior but bloodthirsty military commander, whom Muhammad nicknamed the Sword of Allah for his ferocity in battle (Tabari, 8:158 / 1616-17), conquer the city of Ullays along the Euphrates River (in today’s Iraq). Khalid captures and beheads so many that a nearby canal, into which the blood flowed, was called Blood Canal (Tabari 11:24 / 2034-35).
634 At the Battle of Yarmuk in Syria the Muslim Crusaders defeat the Byzantines. Today Osama bin Laden draws inspiration from the defeat, and especially from an anecdote about Khalid al-Walid. An unnamed Muslim remarks: “The Romans are so numerous and the Muslims so few.” To this Khalid retorts: “How few are the Romans, and how many the Muslims! Armies become numerous only with victory and few only with defeat, not by the number of men. By God, I would love it . . . if the enemy were twice as many” (Tabari, 11:94 / 2095). Osama bin Ladin quotes Khalid and says that his fighters love death more than we in the West love life. This philosophy of death probably comes from a verse like Sura 2:96. Muhammad assesses the Jews: “[Prophet], you are sure to find them [the Jews] clinging to life more eagerly than any other people, even polytheists” (MAS Abdel Haleem, The Qur’an, Oxford UP, 2004; first insertion in brackets is Haleem’s; the second mine).
634-644 The Caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, who is regarded as particularly brutal.
635 Muslim Crusaders besiege and conquer of Damascus
636 Muslim Crusaders defeat Byzantines decisively at Battle of Yarmuk.
637 Muslim Crusaders conquer Iraq at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah (some date it in 635 or 636)
638 Muslim Crusaders conquer and annex Jerusalem, taking it from the Byzantines.
638-650 Muslim Crusaders conquer Iran, except along Caspian Sea.
639-642 Muslim Crusaders conquer Egypt.
641 Muslim Crusaders control Syria and Palestine.
643-707 Muslim Crusaders conquer North Africa.
644 Caliph Umar is assassinated by a Persian prisoner of war; Uthman ibn Affan is elected third Caliph, who is regarded by many Muslims as gentler than Umar.
644-650 Muslim Crusaders conquer Cyprus, Tripoli in North Africa, and establish Islamic rule in Iran, Afghanistan, and Sind.
656 Caliph Uthman is assassinated by disgruntled Muslim soldiers; Ali ibn Abi Talib, son-in-law and cousin to Muhammad, who married the prophet’s daughter Fatima through his first wife Khadija, is set up as Caliph.
656 Battle of the Camel, in which Aisha, Muhammad’s wife, leads a rebellion against Ali for not avenging Uthman’s assassination. Ali’s partisans win.
657 Battle of Siffin between Ali and Muslim governor of Jerusalem, arbitration goes against Ali
661 Murder of Ali by an extremist; Ali’s supporters acclaim his son Hasan as next Caliph, but he comes to an agreement with Muawiyyah I and retires to Medina.
661-680 the Caliphate of Muawiyyah I. He founds Umayyid dynasty and moves capital from Medina to Damascus
673-678 Arabs besiege Constantinople, capital of Byzantine Empire
680 Massacre of Hussein (Muhammad’s grandson), his family, and his supporters in Karbala, Iraq.
691 Dome of the Rock is completed in Jerusalem, only six decades after Muhammad’s death.
705 Abd al-Malik restores Umayyad rule.
710-713 Muslim Crusaders conquer the lower Indus Valley.
711-713 Muslim Crusaders conquer Spain and impose the kingdom of Andalus. This article recounts how Muslims today still grieve over their expulsion 700 years later. They seem to believe that the land belonged to them in the first place.
719 Cordova, Spain, becomes seat of Arab governor
732 The Muslim Crusaders stopped at the Battle of Poitiers; that is, Franks (France) halt Arab advance
749 The Abbasids conquer Kufah and overthrow Umayyids
756 Foundation of Umayyid amirate in Cordova, Spain, setting up an independent kingdom from Abbasids
762 Foundation of Baghdad
785 Foundation of the Great Mosque of Cordova
789 Rise of Idrisid amirs (Muslim Crusaders) in Morocco; foundation of Fez; Christoforos, a Muslim who converted to Christianity, is executed.
800 Autonomous Aghlabid dynasty (Muslim Crusaders) in Tunisia
807 Caliph Harun al-Rashid orders the destruction of non-Muslim prayer houses and of the church of Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem
809 Aghlabids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Sardinia, Italy
813 Christians in Palestine are attacked; many flee the country
831 Muslim Crusaders capture Palermo, Italy; raids in Southern Italy
850 Caliph al-Matawakkil orders the destruction of non-Muslim houses of prayer
855 Revolt of the Christians of Hims (Syria)
837-901 Aghlabids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Sicily, raid Corsica, Italy, France
869-883 Revolt of black slaves in Iraq
909 Rise of the Fatimid Caliphate in Tunisia; these Muslim Crusaders occupy Sicily, Sardinia
928-969 Byzantine military revival, they retake old territories, such as Cyprus (964) and Tarsus (969)
937 The Ikhshid, a particularly harsh Muslim ruler, writes to Emperor Romanus, boasting of his control over the holy places
937 The Church of the Resurrection (known as Church of Holy Sepulcher in Latin West) is burned down by Muslims; more churches in Jerusalem are attacked
960 Conversion of Qarakhanid Turks to Islam
966 Anti-Christian riots in Jerusalem
969 Fatimids (Muslim Crusaders) conquer Egypt and found Cairo
c. 970 Seljuks enter conquered Islamic territories from the East
973 Israel and southern Syria are again conquered by the Fatimids
1003 First persecutions by al-Hakim; the Church of St. Mark in Fustat, Egypt, is destroyed
1009 Destruction of the Church of the Resurrection by al-Hakim (see 937)
1012 Beginning of al-Hakim’s oppressive decrees against Jews and Christians
1015 Earthquake in Palestine; the dome of the Dome of the Rock collapses
1031 Collapse of Umayyid Caliphate and establishment of 15 minor independent dynasties throughout Muslim Andalus
1048 Reconstruction of the Church of the Resurrection completed
1050 Creation of Almoravid (Muslim Crusaders) movement in Mauretania; Almoravids (aka Murabitun) are coalition of western Saharan Berbers; followers of Islam, focusing on the Quran, the hadith, and Maliki law.
1055 Seljuk Prince Tughrul enters Baghdad, consolidation of the Seljuk Sultanate
1055 Confiscation of property of Church of the Resurrection
1071 Battle of Manzikert, Seljuk Turks (Muslim Crusaders) defeat Byzantines and occupy much of Anatolia
1071 Turks (Muslim Crusaders) invade Palestine
1073 Conquest of Jerusalem by Turks (Muslim Crusaders)
1075 Seljuks (Muslim Crusaders) capture Nicea (Iznik) and make it their capital in Anatolia
1076 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) (see 1050) conquer western Ghana
1085 Toledo is taken back by Christian armies
1086 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) (see 1050) send help to Andalus, Battle of Zallaca
1090-1091 Almoravids (Muslim Crusaders) occupy all of Andalus except Saragossa and Balearic Islands
1094 Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus I asks western Christendom for help against Seljuk invasions of his territory; Seljuks are Muslim Turkish family of eastern origins; see 970
1095 Pope Urban II preaches first Crusade; they capture Jerusalem in 1099
So, let's consider these simple questions. Were the Crusades an unprovoked assault by the Christian world upon Islam, or a Christian response to a long train of attacks and assaults upon Christian nations, Christian institutions, and Christian people? Is the anti-Christian rhetoric of Osama and the Islamists a response to the Crusades, or a true expression of Islam that dates back to its foundation?
I believe the above makes the answers quite obvious.
You have got to love such hypocrisy on the part of those who claim big campaign donors are a source of corruption in politics.
But liberals' abhorrence of political money is selective. Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, recently reported that when Democratic senators met in a Capitol room near the Senate floor to plan strategy, their leader, Harry Reid, permitted Stephen Bing to attend. In 2004, Bing, 40, gave more than $14 million of his inherited wealth to Democratic candidates and liberal groups supporting them.Was there any appearance of impropriety—say, cash purchasing access? Gosh, no, said Democrats to Roll Call: "Reid's aides and other Senate Democrats said there is nothing wrong with such a big donor attending meetings otherwise open to only senators and a few top aides, because Bing is not a lobbyist and is not seeking any favors from Democrats." Sen. Barbara Boxer explained that Bing is "just really interested in making this country better." Oh, well, in that case...
Well, we now know th eprice of the Left -- $14 million.
Cindy Sheehan, who owes her noteriety to the media giving too much attention to her last August, is now a media critic. Seems she and her supporters think the media is too soft on George W. Bush and too hard on her.
Sheehan supporters often fault the news media for questioning her motives and giving equal weight to pro-Bush demonstrators. Sheehan's detractors lament that journalists continue to give her consequence by reporting on her activities.But the harshest critics of the so-called mainstream media are Sheehan and her immediate circle of activists.
Last summer, when her 26-day, anti-war vigil was front-page, international news, Sheehan often complained — to large groups of journalists — that the news media were ignoring the story of the anti-war movement.
Last week, it was the same message. Journalists visiting Camp Casey, the protest site named for Sheehan's son who was killed in the Iraq war, were frequently dressed down for various omissions and transgressions.
Jacque Betz, an anti-war demonstrator from Waldo, Fla., scolded journalists for failing to aggressively pursue claims that Bush wanted to bomb the Arab news organization Al-Jazeera.
Hey, Cindy -- you don;t get to micromanage the press. And given your book, speaking fees, and lies about your meeting with the President, I think you are due a little scrutiny.
The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are Acute Senatitis by Gates of Vienna, and Murtha's War by Done With Mirrors. The full results of the vote are found at the Watcher of Weasels.
I had a commenter here recently claim that there was no evidence of connection between al-Qaeda and Iraq prior to the current war. Perhaps these might be worth considering.
This charge is false for several reasons — and illogical for even more. Almost every responsible U.S. government body had long warned about Saddam's links to al-Qaida terrorists. In 1998, for example, when the Clinton Justice Department indicted bin Laden, the writ read: "In addition, al-Qaida reached an understanding with the Government of Iraq that al-Qaida would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al-Qaida would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq."Then in October 2002, George Tenet, the Clinton-appointed CIA director, warned the Senate in similar terms: "We have solid reporting of senior-level contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida going back a decade." Seventy-seven senators apparently agreed — including a majority of Democrats — and cited just that connection a few days later as a cause to go to war against Saddam: " ... Whereas members of al-Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq."
The bipartisan consensus about this unholy alliance was not based on intriguing but unconfirmed rumors of meetings between Saddam's intelligence agents and al-Qaida operatives such as Sept. 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta. Nor did the senators or the president ever claim that Saddam himself planned the Sept. 11 attacks. Instead, the Justice Department, the Senate and two administrations were alarmed by terrorist groups like Ansar al-Islam, an al-Qaida affiliate that established bases in Iraqi Kurdistan.
More importantly, one of the masterminds of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, Abdul Rahman Yasin, fled to Baghdad to find sanctuary with Saddam after the attack. And after the U.S.'s successful war against the Taliban, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the present murderous al-Qaida leader in Iraq, reportedly escaped from Afghanistan to gain a reprieve from Saddam.
Now we can debate how strong the connection was, how involved Iraq was in 9/11, and many other issues surrounding the war -- but to claim that the connection was non-existant and that claims of a connection were lies is to stray outside of documented fact and into the world of tin-foil-wearing conspiracy theories
Well, that isn't the headline that appears on the article, but it is certainly much more accurate than the one that did appear on the article.
Teacher under investigation for alleged liberalism
You see, it is the teacher's unwarranted injection of his political views into his classroom materials and vocabulary assessments that are the problem, not the views themselves.
"I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes," said one question on a quiz written by English and social studies teacher Bret Chenkin.The question referring to the president asked students to say whether coherent or eschewed was the proper word. The sentence would be more coherent if one eschewed eschewed.
Another example said, "It is frightening the way the extreme right has (balled, arrogated) aspects of the Constitution and warped them for their own agenda." Arrogated would be the proper word there.
Chenkin claims, of course, that the quizzes are being looked at out of context. While he may have a point, I have a difficult time imagining a context in which these items would be appropriate -- and I say that as a social studies teacher who is also a certified English teacher (though not, as many of you have noticed, a typing teacher). I suppose if one were teaching a unit on propaganda or the use of biased language it would be possible to justify such assessment items, but I'm not sure that i would be comfortable using them in my classroom.
Do I want to see Chenkin fired for this lapse in professional judgement? No, I do not. I don't think he has crossed the line far enough for that. Do I think he needs to be cautioned and reminded that there are lines beyond which a teacher should not go? Yeah, I do.
I'll be watching to see how this situation plays out.
(HAT TIP: Michelle Malkin)
The spiritual leader of Ohio's largest mosque has been detained pending deportation for his ties to Islamist terrorist organizations, including raising funds for the groups.
Imam Fawaz Damra, the spiritual leader of Ohio's largest mosque, was convicted in June 2004 of concealing ties to three groups that the U.S. government classifies as terrorist organizations when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 1994.That conviction was upheld in March, clearing the way for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin deportation proceedings.
Damra, 44, was arrested early Friday without incident, the immigration office said.
"It is clear that this person, Mr. Damra, believed in terrorism, supported terrorism," said Brian Moskowitz, an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's office in Detroit. "This is not a man of peace or a man of God."
Unfortunately, while I agree with the characterization of Imam Damra set forth above, it appears that he is a typical man of Islam, given the fact that his mosque continues to support him.
Words from the great leaders of the past, acknowledging the need for offering thanks to God Almighty for all the good things he has given and done for this most blessed of nations, the United States of America.
George Washington -- 1789
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the provisions of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor, and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me to "recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many single favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."Now therefore do I recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the Service of that great and glorious Being, who is the benificent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks, for His kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the single and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, of the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have to acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge and in general for all the great and various favours which He hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humble offering our prayers and supplications to the Great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all people, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Abraham Lincoln -- 1863
The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of almighty God.In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the boarders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battle-field, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our benificent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full employment and peace, harmony, tranquility and union.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and cause the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.
A Happy Thanksgiving to all, as we lift up our voices in humble praise of God.
Thank God (the True God, not the false one worshipped by the Islamists) that these toys did not get distributed to the children of Iraq.
Baghdad - The Iraqi army said on Thursday it had seized a number of booby-trapped children's dolls, accusing insurgents of using the explosive-filled toys to target children.The dolls were found in a car, each one containing a grenade or other explosive, said an army statement.
The government said that two men driving the car had been arrested in the western Baghdad district of Abu Ghraib.
"This is the same type of doll as that handed out on several occasions by US soldiers to children," said government spokesperson Leith Kubba.
It was not immediately clear when the find was made or the suspects arrested.
These sick Islamist pigs murdered children waiting for toys today. Now we find that they were also looking to distribute deadly ones to other children.
Should we cut and run from such a foe, or should we stay and help the Iraqi people finish the job?
Some stories need no commentary.
A suicide attacker steered a car packed with explosives toward U.S. soldiers giving away toys to children outside a hospital in central Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 31 people. Almost all of the victims were women and children, police said.
I'll let the words of one victim speak more eloquently than I can.
The suicide bomber in Mahmoudiya was targeting U.S. military vehicles parked near the hospital, said Iraqi army Capt. Ibrahim Abdeallah. He said two U.S. soldiers were wounded and one Humvee damaged.The U.S. soldiers were distributing toys to children in the hospital, said police Maj. Falah al-Mohammedawi.
Dr. Osama Kassab of Baghdad's Yarmouk hospital said there were 23 injured and three dead at his facility. It was not clear if these were in addition to the dead and wounded cited by the doctor in Mahmoudiya.
"It was an explosion at the gate of the hospital," said one woman who had wounds on her face and legs. "My children are gone. My brother is gone."
They targeted women and children who wanted nothing more than toys.
Evil. Evil. Evil.
Proving once again that he worships his sexual orientation more than he worships God, New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson spoke out today against the new Vatican document regarding homosexuals and the priesthood. But what he doesn't realize is that his words support the Vatican position more than they refute it.
Robinson said there were probably many Roman Catholics like himself."There are plenty of gay men who have faithfully served the Roman Catholic Church, who know themselves to be gay and who are faithful to their vow of celibacy. To exclude them from the ordained ministry is a real mistake," he said.
"It appears that being celibate is not good enough."
Well, Gene, let's unpack that statement.
You cheated on your wife, dumped her and the kids, and took up with your lover, with whom you live in a relationship that you concede is not celibate. You are willing to disregard the Word of God and fracture the Anglican communion for the greater glory of Gene Robinson. That seems to me to be exactly the opposite of what a good priest should be.
We can al argue about the efficacy and necessity of the War on Drugs. Wherever one comes down on that issue, though, it is difficult to argue with the logical position taken here by a court reading the plain language of a statute.
The question before the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, was whether a man named James Robbins was guilty of selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school - which carries a longer sentence - when he was arrested in March 2002 on the corner of Eighth Avenue and 40th Street in Manhattan and charged with selling drugs to an undercover police officer.The nearest school, Holy Cross, is on 43rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. How to measure? On foot, Mr. Robbins's lawyers argued, the school is more than 1,000 feet away from the site of the arrest, because the shortest route is blocked by buildings. But as the crow flies, the authorities said, it is less than 1,000 feet away.
Law enforcement officials calculated the straight-line distance using the Pythagorean theorem (a2 + b2 = c2) measuring the distance up Eighth Avenue (764 feet) as one side of a right triangle, and the distance to the church along 43rd Street (490 feet) as another, to find that the length of the hypotenuse was - 907.63 feet.
Lawyers for Mr. Robbins argued that the distance should be measured as a person would walk it because "crows do not sell drugs." But in a unanimous ruling, the seven-member Court of Appeals upheld his conviction and held that the distance in such cases should be measured as the crow flies.
"Plainly, guilt under the statute cannot depend on whether a particular building in a person's path to a school happens to be open to the public or locked at the time of a drug sale," Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye wrote in the opinion.
Mr. Robbins is currently serving a 6-to-12-year sentence.
It is rather sad that we have to adjudicate such matters as whether 1000 feet actually means 1000 feet as measured in a straight line. I wonder, though -- had Robbins prevailed, would the courts have made an even shorter distance for individuals who are so drunk or high that they cannot walk a straight line?
And I'm curious -- will the ACLU argue that imposing an enhanced penalty for drug sales within 1000 feet of Holy Cross School constitutes a violation of the Establishment Clause?
As long as they pay him, the Philadelphia Eagles can deactivate loud-mouthed lockerroom malcontent Terrell Owens if they feel it is in the best interests of the team. Owens has no right under the NFL collective bargaining agreement with the players to actually play football. So says the mediator in Owens' grievance case against the Eagles.
For conduct proven to be a "destructive and continuing threat" to his team, an arbitrator ruled Wednesday that the Eagles were justified in suspending their All-Pro receiver for four games — and are within their rights to deactivate him for the rest of the year.The Eagles will now look to trade or release Owens before next March, when he's due a $5 million roster bonus.
Arbitrator Richard Bloch wrote in his 38-page decision that there was "no violation of the labor agreement inherent in the club's decision to pay Mr. Owens, but not to permit him to play or practice due to the nature of his conduct and its destructive and continuing threat to the team."
Well, T.O -- sit home and count that cash. Oh, and don't expect to get picked up for next season, especially since not even my hapless Houston Texans are willing to put up with your crap for a chance to becoem a winner. Your skills simply do not overcome your personality defects.
At least there is one Democrat who sees matters correctly regarding Iraq.
U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman told Iraq's prime minister Wednesday that U.S. forces will remain in Iraq until their mission is complete, despite growing unease in Congress about the progress of the conflict here."We cannot let extremists and terrorists, a small number, here in Iraq deprive the 27 million Iraqis of what they want which is a better freer life, safer life for themselves and their children" Lieberman said after his meeting with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
The Connecticut Democrat, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the cost of success in Iraq would be high "but the cost for America of failure in Iraq would be catastrophic -- for America, for the Iraqi people and I believe for the world."
Exactly right, sir.
Now, if only we can get the GOP to stand firmly with this outstanding, patriotic Democrat.
I've been interested in the current hub-bub about the Vatican's position on admitting homosexuals to the presthood. It isn't just because it is an interesting theological or cultural phenomenon. Rather, I am intrigued because of my own experience of having spent four years in a major seminary (graduate school), departing one year short of ordination and eventually marrying a woman I adore. As such, I am familiar with many of the questions involved.
The Vatican is ordering seminaries to bar candidates for the priesthood who "practice homosexuality," have "deeply rooted homosexual tendencies" or support "gay culture," according to a document published Tuesday by Adista, a Catholic news agency in Rome.The long-awaited instruction to seminary directors was scheduled for official release next week. It has been the subject of numerous leaks that have sparked intense debate and led some Catholic leaders, including the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, to defend the place of celibate gay priests in the church. But until Tuesday, a full text had not been published.
"The church, while deeply respecting the people in question, cannot admit to the seminary and the sacred orders those who practice homosexuality, present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or support so-called gay culture," said the five-page document, which a Vatican official said appeared to be the authentic, final version.***
The document does not call for the removal of gay men who are already serving as priests, and it does not flatly bar the ordination of anyone who has ever acknowledged a same-sex attraction. It says men whose homosexuality is "a transitory problem" may be ordained as deacons -- a key step toward the priesthood -- if they have lived in celibacy for at least three years.
Now let's break this down.
1) There is no place in the semnary or priesthood for those sexually active homosexuals.
2) There is no place in the seminary or priesthood for those with a strong homosexual orientation.
3) There is no place in the seminary or priesthood for those who adopt lifestyle and cultural choices that seek to normalize homosexuality.
4) Those with a homosexual tendency who demnostrate the ability to live a celibate life with integrity may be ordained.
Frankly, I think the document gets it just about right. Two of the points are so basic that I don't think they can even be argued.
The first point is basic common sense. The sexually active have no place in the celibate priesthood.
The third point is equally obvious. Those attached to a philosophy or lifestyle antithetical to the teachings of the Church are not fit candidates to be pastors and teachers. Afte all, they will not be able to uphold Church teachings with integrity.
Point two, regarding theose with a strong orientation, takes a little more thought to understand. It strikes me as being something along the lines of minimizing the possibility of lapses in celibacy. Given that a seminary is an all male community and that a priest often finds himself living in a house with another priest, there are intimate non-sexual relationships that develop between these men. I'll be honest -- such bonds are necessary to preserve one's mental well-being and prevent isolation. But if there is a sexual attraction -- either solitary or mutual -- in such reliolation of celibacy OR will splinter due to the strsses the attraction causes. I have seen both happen, and the results can be tragic for those involved.
The fourth point, though, seems to be teh most important one. If a man can live the celibate life with integrity for an extended period of time, then it that man is acceptable as a candidate for priesthood. In the context of this document, we are talking about homosexual asexual activity, but I think that the rule will be applied to all candidates, regardless of orientation. After all, a priest is committing to live a celibate life for the next 30-50 years -- shouldn't he be expected to demnonstrate that he can do so for a short period before making the permananet commitment?
Now there ae some comments regarding pedophilia that i would like to take up.
"There are people on the right wing who from the beginning saw this document as a kind of magic wand that would remove the taint of the sex abuse scandal," said the Rev. John A. Coleman, a Jesuit sociologist at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. "I think that's wishful thinking -- and pretty stupid."
Actually, Father Coleman, it is you who are stupid. You are intentionally ignoring what the data show about the scandal -- that most of the cases did not involve pedophilia, which would have required that the victims be prepubescent. That data shows that many of the victims were adolescent males, which is a sign that the perpetrator was not acting upon an attraction to children but upon a sexual attraction to young men -- precisely the sort of glorification of young men as sexual objects that is found in the homosexual community (not dissimilar to the objectification of young women among heterosexual males). I realize that this is an inconvenient fact in the examination of the abuse scandal, but it is a fact.
Ultimately, I don't see this document as making a great difference. Most of the homosexual seminarians I knew (about 25% of my classmates, and a higher percentage of those who were ordained) would be acceptable under these guidelines. And the shrinking priesthood will continue to shrink as long as celibacy is retained as a Church-imposed (not divinely mandated) rule.Until the celibacy issue is thoroughly reexamined, there will continue to be a shortage of men to fill the role of priest within the Catholic Church.
No one can criticize John Murtha and his position on Iraq, according to the cut-and-run Leftists. Will they extend the same courtesy to this veteran, and kindly shut up? After all, I think he is in a better position than they are to know what to do.
A National Guard general from upstate New York responsible for securing one-quarter of Iraq for the past year said Tuesday it's not yet time to withdraw American troops, though progress has been made in turning over control to Iraqi authorities."I don't think a quick pullout is in the interests of anybody," Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto said. "You've got to have a military that can secure the government."
Commander of the Troy-based 42nd Infantry Division and a task force of 24,000 U.S. troops in north-central Iraq until Nov. 1, Taluto said they helped establish 18 fully- trained and equipped Iraqi battalions and turned over 11 military operating bases to Iraqi control, including the former presidential palace in Tikrit on Tuesday.
"I think it's possible we can see troop reductions in 2006 based on what I see," Taluto said. "It has been on our watch incrementally getting better all the time."
The task force included about 3,500 members of the 42nd, about 400 from the greater Albany area, with the last few planeloads slated to return shortly. Maj. Richard Goldenberg said their area in Iraq comprised about 27,000 square miles, about half the size of New York state. It included Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish areas and about 40 percent of the country's oil fields.
Yeah, I think the commander of a major theater of operations would be in a position to comment about the appropriate policy on troop deployment. General Taluto says to stay. Let's respect his service and that of his troops by making sure that the mission is completed and that the American military leaves with honor.
Looks like the hate-America-firsters of MoveOn.Org are out to take down Congressmen who disagree with them.
At least two of those attacked are veterans.
And here I thought we were supposed to honor our veterans and their service, and not question their position on the Iraq war.
The MoveOn.org ads are scheduled to begin airing nationally Thanksgiving Day. Local ads targeted to the individual congressmen will run on cable systems in each of the lawmakers' home districts a few days later, said Tom Matzzie, MoveOn.org's Washington director.Last Thursday, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., called for an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. The next day, the Republican-controlled House hastily arranged for a vote on Murtha's resolution. Democrats accused Republicans of orchestrating a political stunt that prohibited thoughtful debate on the issue, and nearly all voted against the measure. The final tally was 403 against Murtha's resolution and three in favor of it.
So it seems that the representatives are all within the mainstream -- even Murtha voted for the resolution -- but MoveOn.Org will not show other veterans the same respect they demand for the cut-and-run congressman from Pennsylvania.
It seems like it is high time for the American people to tell MoveOn to EffOff.
Just to remind folks about the "high value" placed upon women by Islam under sharia law, I link you to this story. Women are nothing more than a commodity, to be turned over unwilling to satisfy family feuds, and to be raped or murdered if they refuse to cooperate.
A village council in Pakistan has decreed that five young women should be abducted, raped or killed for refusing to honour childhood "marriages".The women, who are cousins, were married in absentia by a mullah in their Punjabi village to illiterate sons of their family's enemies in 1996, when they were aged from six to 13.
The marriages were part of a compensation agreement ordered by the village council and reached at gunpoint after the father of one of the girls shot dead a family rival.
The rival families have now called in their "debt", demanding the marriages to the village men are fulfilled.
The case is becoming a cause célèbre in Pakistan, pitting tribal mores against a group of modern-minded, educated women. Amna Niazi, the eldest of the five at 22, is taking a degree in English literature, while both her sisters want to attend university.
Their fathers are supporting them and have refused to hand them over, leading to a resumption of the blood feud, with two relatives shot recently and 20 people arrested, while promises of further retribution and murder abound.
In addition to the sentence on the women, the village council has sentenced to death Jehan Khan Niazi, the father of three of the women, and the fathers of the other two for failing to honour the supposed bond with men whose identities they are not even certain of.
The women have said they will commit suicide if their fathers obey the council.
That such abuse of fundamental human dignity is countenanced under Islamic law is disgusting. That the Pakistani government still fails to take strong action to end such attrocities is even worse.
Is it necessary for the civilized nations of the world to forcibly suppress Islam and its barbarous customs in order to ensure basic human rights for half of the human race?
Talk is cheap, so make those who speak against the war take a stand by voting on continuation or withdrawal. That is the strategy of Rep J.D. Heyworth (R-AZ) in response to folks like John Murtha and Dennis Kucinich, who call continue to seek an immediate pull-out of US troops from Iraq.
"If they start this again, we'll call the vote again," said Rep. J.D. Hayworth, Arizona Republican, whom members credited with suggesting holding a vote. "As far as I'm concerned, if they haven't learned from this, if they go back to this cheap talk, I would be more than happy to call for another vote."
I don't see any problem here. If opposed to the war, they should have no problem with making a vote consistent with their words -- especially if, as they claim, the American people are with them.
Well, now the Left gets what it claimed it had wanted -- the indictment of Jose Padilla and the transfer of his case to full civilian control.
Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held without charges for more than three years on suspicion of plotting a "dirty bomb" attack in this country, has been indicted on three counts alleging he conspired to "murder, maim and kidnap" people overseas.The indictment naming Padilla and four others was unsealed Tuesday after being returned last week by a federal grand jury in Miami. While the charges allege Padilla was part of a U.S.-based terrorism conspiracy, they do not include the government's earlier allegations that he planned to carry out attacks in America.
"The indictment alleges that Padilla traveled overseas to train as a terrorist with the intention of fighting a violent jihad," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said at a news conference. Gonzales declined to comment on why none of the allegations involving attacks in America were included in the indictment.
I'm not surprosed by the lack of charges about plans to carry out an attack in the US. Making the information involved public would most certainly result in the disclosure of intelligence sources that are still useful. Better to put this Islamist pig away for a long time without burning a useful intelligence asset than to go "whole hog" when it would be detrimental to national security. As it is, three of the charges carry a potential life sentence -- one count each of conspiracy to murder, maim and kidnap people overseas, providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy.
According to the indictment, Padilla traveled overseas to receive violent jihad training and to fight violent jihad from October 1993 to November 2001. On July 24, 2000, Padilla allegedly filled out a "Mujahideen Data Form" in preparation for violent jihad training in Afghanistan and reportedly was seen in that country in October 2000.
A "Mujahadeen Data Form"? Am I the only one here who has a vision of burqa-clad women in a mud hut doing data-entry work?
The charges against him and four others allege they were part of a North American support cell that sent money, assets and recruits overseas "for the purpose of fighting violent jihad." The indictment mentions Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Egypt and Bosnia, but makes no allegations of specific attacks anywhere.The others indicted are: Adham Amin Hassoun a Lebanese-born Palestinian who lived in Broward County, Fla.;, Mohammed Hesham Youssef, an Egyptian who lived in Broward County; Kifah Wael Jayyousi, a Jordanian national and U.S. citizen who lived in San Diego; and Kassem Daher, a Lebanese citizen with Canadian residency status.
Notice, friends, that we once again have a south Florida connection to terrorism -- where it is easy to flee the jurisdiction.. One of those indicted lived in San Diego, not far from the pourousborder with Mexico. Tow of the accused are in sustody in the US, while Youssef is in prison in Egypt and Daher is in Lebanon.
I wonder how long it is going to be before Left-wing supporters of the enemies of America demand the release of Padilla and his con-conspiritors on bail and the dismissal of all charges.
They wanted the world to increase the use of bio-fuels, which are replenishable and pollute less. The Kyoto agreement includes compliance with their demands, and world governments are out to increase the use of this resource.
Now the radical environmentalists are changing their minds -- claiming that their favored "environmentally friendly" energy source is not so friendly to the environment after all.
An alternative fuel source once considered more Earth-friendly than petroleum is now being derided by some environmentalists and farming experts for allegedly hastening the destruction of the world's rainforests.Bio-fuels, fuel made from corn, sugar cane or vegetable oil, can be used to power up everything from sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to diesel engines. Yet in spite of its reputation as a viable alternative to petroleum, this alternative fuel has prompted some environmental groups to point to the potential for environmental damage.
The British government, hard pressed to meet emission restrictions laid out by the greenhouse gas limiting Kyoto Protocol, is being criticized by the environmental group Friends of the Earth (FOE) for proposing to force oil companies to include bio-fuels in five percent of their gas and diesel fuels by 2010.
FOE is concerned that increased production of bio-fuels will cause the destruction of the world's rainforests.
"We live in a global marketplace and the worry is that some of these fuels will be imported," said Roger Higman of FOE, according to the UK Telegraph on Nov. 11. Higman is concerned that much more land will be needed to grow the crops necessary to produce bio-fuels and in turn increase deforestation.
"It could be genetically modified crops or palm oil from freshly cleared rainforests. There is also a concern that British farmers could flatten the countryside in order to grow bio-fuels," Higman added.
Now let me get this straight -- you want bio-fuels, but you don't want an increase in agricultural production to produce them. How did you think we were going to get them in the first place?
I wonder -- how much energy could be produced and how many acres of rainforest could be saved by using environmentalists as a source for bio-fuel?
What else can you call it when something like this happens?
A marijuana-laden dump truck got stuck in the Rio Grande between Texas and Mexico until men who looked like Mexican troops yanked the truck into Mexico, according to authorities.Hudspeth County Chief Deputy Mike Doyal told the El Paso Times: "Everyone had the presence of mind not to cause an international incident or start shooting."
Excuse me?
Mexican troops?
Thursday evening, Border Patrol agents tried to stop the dump truck on Interstate 10, sheriff's officials said. The truck fled to Mexico in the Neely's Crossing area.
The truck got stuck in the riverbed, and the driver took off running. Doyal said the driver returned with armed men, including men who arrived in official-looking vehicles with overhead lights and what appeared to be Mexican soldiers in uniform and with military-style rifles.
Helping the drug smugglers avoid detention by rescuing them from American terrirory?
The standoff ended when the "soldiers" used a bulldozer to pull the dump truck into Mexico, sheriff's department officials said.
This damned well should have turned into a shooting incident! There should have been a whole mess of dead Mexicans "soldiers" when they did not stand down and permit the apprehensions of criminals on American soil. Wanna bet that we would likely see a serious decrease in border incidents involving mexican military and law enforcement personnel?
When, oh when, are we going to simply point our troops south and stop the violations of American sovereignty and security that come from Mexico every day?
HAT TIP: Blognomicon and The War On Guns.
Thousands of pilgrims are pouring into the dense jungle of southern Nepal to worship a 15-year-old boy who has been hailed as a new Buddha.Devotees claim that Ram Bomjon, who is silently meditating beneath a tree, has not eaten or drunk anything since he sat down at his chosen spot six months ago.
Witnesses say they have seen light emanating from the teenager's forehead."It looks a bit like when you shine a torch through your hand," said Tek Bahadur Lama, a member of the committee responsible for dealing with the growing number of visitors from India and elsewhere in Nepal.
He has not moved from his spot in six months, has taken no nourishment, and has survived a snakebite.
He sks, though, that he not be called a Buddha.
After five days it was opened and he spoke. "Tell the people not to call me a Buddha. I don't have the Buddha's energy. I am at the level of rinpoche [lesser divinity]."A snake bit me but I do not need treatment. I need six years of deep meditation."
Yes, fascinating indeed.
Somehow I doubt that the Left, having conferred infallibility upon John Murtha for his service, will be willing to give the same level of respect to another hero in their midst -- 29-year Air Force veteran and former POW Sam Johnson.
Somehow I doubt it. After all, he is a Texan, a Republican, and a supporter of the war in Iraq.
“Pulling our troops out of Iraq now is unconscionable and irresponsible.“We’ve got to support our troops to the hilt and see this mission through.
“I bet Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is high-fiving his buddies and praising Allah after hearing these news reports. Immediate withdrawal- and the conflict sparked by this debate - is just what al-Zarqawi wants.
“I was just in Iraq and our troops told me that they are motivated to spread democracy. They’re fighting for freedom and they mean business.
“We need to get the job done in support of freedom and to eliminate Al-Qaeda terrorists around the world.
“In case people have forgotten, this is the same thing that happened in Vietnam. Peaceniks and people in Congress – and America - started saying bad things about what was going on over there. Let me tell you what it did for troop morale. It’s a real downer.
“I just pray our troops and their families can block this noise out and know that I will fight like mad to make sure our troops have everything they need - for as long as they need - to win the global war on terrorism.”
John Murtha does not speak for all American veterans -- not even a majority of them, based upon my experience. As I pointed out earlier, he does not speak for the men and women serving in Iraq today, or those who have recently returned.
Bravo, Congressman Johnson.
HAT TIP: Generation Why? and Blogs for Bush.
Rep. John Murtha continues his campaign of advocacy for a cut-and -run strategy in Iraq.
Staying the course in Iraq is not an option or a policy. I believe we must begin discussions for an immediate re-deployment of U.S. forces from Iraq. I believe it can be accomplished in as little as six months, but it must be consistent with the safety of U.S. troops.
Democrats tell us that we cannot question his motives or proposal because he is a veteran and a war hero.
I mean if a three-decades-out-of-uniform partisan hack like Murtha must be given respect becasue of his service, shouldn't the opinions of those coming back from Iraq be worth infinitely more?
While Democrats and Republicans disagree whether American troops should be pulled immediately from Iraq, several returning soldiers from the New York Army National Guard's 29th Personnel Services Detachment on Saturday agree: Continue the mission.After stepping off the red, white and blue bus that brought them back -- soaking in their first moments with friends and family -- some of the 15 soldiers talked about their support of the war.
Yeah, you read that right -- soldiers returning from Iraq expressing support for the war. Not congresscritters like Rep. Murtha (whose three decades in Congress have earned him solid credentials as an REMF) demanding a repeat of the great skee-daddle from Saigon, and not folks who have been spoon-fed bad news by the liberally biased folks inthe mainstream media.
What do these serving heroes, fresh back from a year of active duty that included service in Iraq, have to say about the war?
Well, there is this opinion.
"I think that if we left now, it wouldn't be a good idea because there's so much left to be done," said Guard member Sarah Spicci, of Mayfield.
And there is this from a soldier who was a sceptic before his deployment.
When Spec. Jason Alexis headed overseas, he wasn't entirely sure why so many people needed to go.The University at Albany senior from Brooklyn changed his mind once he arrived, though.
"We are really doing a lot of good," Alexis said. Soldiers are helping the country get back on its feet, he said.
And then there is this little tidbit from a soldier who is a member of a family of soldiers.
Sgt. Scott Diange was greeted by a contingent that included his father, who wore a T-shirt with photos of four generations of Diange men -- three of whom have gone to war, and one, Scott's son, who's not yet old enough to go.He had a message for the civilians back here.
"Keep supporting us," Diange said. "It's going to go on for a long time. I think we're doing good. We should stay over there until the job's done."
Those are good words.
Did you get the message, Americans? "Keep supporting us."
Do you understand that, impatient advocates of withdrawal? "It's going to go on for a long time."
Democrats, are you listening? "I think we're doing good."
John Murtha, heed this message from a soldier fighting THIS war. "We should stay over there until the job's done."
Sgt. Scott Diange -- you have my support, and the support of all patriotic Americans. Let's work to convince the rest.
LINKING TO OPEN TRACKBACK: Stop The ACLU
The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are Let's Discuss Bush Derangement Syndrome Again by Dr. Sanity, and Attention GOP Leadership: by The Anchoress. The link to both winning entries can be found here.
Also, if you are looking for a nomination, see this post for the Watcher's weekly offer of link whorage.
Or at least those are the reports coming out of Iraq.
Brig. Said Ahmed al-Jubouri, the spokesman for the Mosul police, said Iraqi police and U.S. soldiers surrounded a house in the al-Sukar neighborhood of Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.
A fierce gunfight erupted and three of the insurgents detonated explosives, killing themselves. Five more died fighting, while four police officers were also killed, he added.
Al-Jubouri said officials were attempting to identify the dead insurgents.
Nineva province Governor Duraid Kashmola confirmed the report, adding that one woman was among the dead insurgents.
U.S. officials in the area were not immediately available for comment.
Sounds like good news so far.
Arch terrorists and al-Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have been killed, Arab press have reported.According to reports, American and Iraqi forces are currently checking whether al-Zarqawi's body can be found among the bodies of other al-Qaeda members that blew themselves up at a house that was besieged by the forces at the northern town of Musul. (Ali Waked)
At least those are the reports from Arab sources Elaph and al-Mada, according to Iraq the Model and No End but Victory.
The Jerusalem Post also notes the reports.
The Elaph Arab media website reported on Sunday that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of the al-Qaida in Iraq terror group, may have been killed in Iraq on Sunday afternoon when eight terrorists blew themselves up in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.The unconfirmed report claimed that the explosions occurred while coalition forces surrounded the house in which al-Zarqawi was hiding. American and Iraqi forces are looking into the report.
American sources neither confirm nor deny the report -- but do seem to hint at the possibility.
In Washington, a U.S. official said the identities of the terror suspects killed was unknown. Asked if they could include al-Zarqawi, the official replied: "There are efforts under way to determine if he was killed."The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
In other words, this may be it. The terrorist leader behind so much of the violence in iraq may be in Hell, roasting on a pit with an apple firmly clenched between his teeth -- a fit eternity for such an Islamist pig.
Hat Tip to Michelle Malkin and Mudville Gazette.
UPDATE: This update from the Washington Post has bad news (al-Zarqawi likely was not killed) and good some good news (imams and sheiks are cooperating in tracking the terrorist leader).
U.S. military officials believe it is possible that Zarqawi was killed in the raid but will not know with certainty until DNA tests are run, said a U.S. military intelligence official involved in Iraqi issues.There is a "30 percent" chance that one of the bodies is Zarqawi's, he said. But he warned: "We've had dry holes before."
Over the past month, the official said, there has been a series of raids following a surge in tips from Iraqis unhappy with Zarqawi and his operation. These tend to be traditional Iraqi leaders -- sheiks and imams -- upset with the organization, especially its recent execution of Sunni Arabs in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar. "Their feeling is that al Qaeda in Iraq has overstepped its bounds," he said.
Could this be a sign of the waning of the insurgency, right at the time that liberals want to retreat from the field in disgrace?
UPDATE 2: The Counterterrorism Blog is suggesting that reports of al-Zarqawi's death are greatly exagerated.
UPDATE 3: MSNBC reports that troops just missed capturing al-Zarqawi.
Michelle Malkin, the multi-talented columnist and blogger whose beauty puts every other conservative pundit to shame, writes today about those racist/sexist/leftist commenters who have been waging an attack upon her and her husband, Jesse.
As I've noted in several newspaper profiles and television interviews, I met my husband in college, where he founded a right-of-center student publication that I wrote for and edited. He started off as a Berkeley-born Dukakis liberal; I was a congenital conservative who helped him see the light. We have been each other's best friend, editor, and sounding board for nearly half of our lives. He followed me to Southern California when I took my first newspaper gig in Los Angeles. He followed me up to the Pacific Northwest when I was hired by the Seattle Times. I followed him to Washington D.C. when he got a lucrative health-care consulting job. And when my career took off after I published my first book in 2002, he cut back on his own ambitions to be with our kids.In his spare time (such as it is with an active kindergartener and an Energizer bunny preschooler), he helps me out when he can. Al Franken needs a dozen, overpaid Harvard-trained research assistants. I have my hubby's help for a few hours a week.
In other words, the Malkins are a couple who are very much in love with one another and who have put her successful career ahead of his so that their daughter can have one full-time parent.
SO what is the problem? Well, it seems that those on the Left do not thik an Asian woman could possibly be smart enough to independently formulate conservative views -- and that since Jesse Malkin is also a writer (focus on healt care issues, as I understand it), he must have some sort of influence and control over his wife.
Michelle does concede that ther eis influence -- but an influence based upon intellectual equality, not the domination of a husband over his wife.
As for my husband's "influence," why yes, he influences me all the time and vice versa. Spouses tend to do that to each other over the years. When I came up with my idea for Invasion after 9/11, he was skeptical. We don't agree on everything, but I've pulled him to the right on national security, the Second Amendment, and some social issues. He has put up with my insomniac writing habits, investigative obsessions, and workaholism for more than a dozen years, and I have successfully converted him to the conservative cause.
In other words, it sounds like a lovely marriage. It is the sort of relationship we should encourage and envy in this country, not one to be denigrated and destroyed.
Michelle makes a plea from the heart to her liberal critics, one which should be respected if these alleged opponents of racism, sexism, anti-Semitism and the politics of personal destruction should respect if they are sincere in their beliefs (I doubt they are, thought they talk a good game).
The racist and sexist "yellow woman doing a white man's job" knock is a tiresome old attack from impotent liberals that I've tolerated a long time. It is pathetic that I have to sit here and tell you that my ideas, my politics, and my intellectual capital are mine and mine alone in response to cowardly attacks from misogynistic moonbats with Asian whore fixations. My IQ, free will, skin color, eye shape, productivity, sincerity, and integrity are routinely ridiculed or questioned because I happen to be a minority conservative woman. As a public figure, I am willing to take these insults, but I cannot tolerate the smearing of my loved ones. Because I have always been open and proud about his support for my career, my husband has taken endless, hate-filled abuse from my critics. His Jewish heritage, his decision to be a stay-at-home dad, and even his looks, are the subject of brutal mockery.Enough.
If you have a problem with my work and what I stand for, go ahead and take me on. Keep calling me whatever four-letter-word makes you feel better when you can't win your arguments. But leave my family alone.
In other words, folks, if you want to combat her in the marketplace of ideas, have at it. If you are a lowlife scumbag who feels the need to engage in misogynistic race-baiting, do so if you must. But attacks and assualts on family are the province of intellectually deficient moral degenerates, and ae always to be condemned.
And if I may say, great picture. I think the t-shirt says it all.
God bless you Michelle, and your beloved Jesse -- and your adorable little daughter as well.
I've never been a fan of "blue laws", which restrict business activities on certain days with an ostensibly religious significance.
Originally implemented to force folks to keep the Christian Sabbath, they interfere with the legitimate rights of those of other faiths (and no faith at all) to engage in commerce as they see fit -- and provides no equivalent protection for those whose Sabbath and other holy days fall outside of those of the Christian religion.
More to the point, they needlessly restrict the economic activities of Americans on their non-work days. After all, who is harmed if I purchase a car on Sunday?
Massachusetts has done away with most of its blue laws -- but among the exceptions is the one requiring that stores close on Christmas, New Years Day, and Thanksgiving.
One grocer, Whole Foods (which specializes in natural and organic foods), planned to open its 14 Massachusetts stores for Thanksgiving. A compettitor, Shaws Supermarkets, with over 200 Massachusetts stores, complained to the state and have brought the jackboot of the state authority down upon Whole Foods to force the closure of their much smaller competitor, which had sought and received permits from local authorities to open on the holiday.
What was the basis of thier complaint?
"We believe that allowing Whole Foods to open on Thanksgiving Day will create an unlevel playing field for all other retail grocers," Shaw's legal department wrote to Reilly on Nov. 4. "Besides disadvantaging competitors, a Whole Foods opening would harm consumers, due to lack of choice in the marketplace for consumers to shop and compare prices for the best deal."
I have two reactions.
1) What would have kept you from seeking a similar exemption?
2) Do you really believe that it is a greater harm to consumers to have a single choice on Thanksgiving than for them to have zero choices?
Not, of course, that Massachusetts consumers will be without recourse on Thanksgiving. Gas stations and convenience stores will be open under an exemption written into the blue law. I wonder if Shaws in Massachusetts has done like Krogers has here in Texas and Albertsons has done in other parts of the country -- opened up convenience stores and gas stations on their lots, which would allow them to sell all those Thanksgiving needs without competition from Whole Foods. And, of course, whatever convenience store or gas station they go to will have a smaller selection of goods at much higher prices than they would have paid at Whole Foods -- certainly a wonderful benefit of this state "protection" of the consumer. Not to mention that the available selections will not include the preferred organic and natural food selections of Whole Foods shoppers.
The state is offering a different justification for its actions.
A letter to Whole Foods from Reilly's fair labor and business practices division said, "Generally, the performance of work on legal holidays is prohibited unless permitted by a statutory exemption." The letter noted Reilly has the power to bring criminal charges against anyone who violates the state's blue laws.Nick Messuri, chief of Reilly's business and labor protection bureau, said the blue laws sound archaic, but they protect workers from pressure to give up their holidays.
Whole Foods responds that no worker would have been forced to work on the holiday, and that they would have received double-time for the holiday shift -- a bargain I certainly would be glad to make (and generally did when I worked for an hourly wage).
But everyone here is protected by state regulation. Consumers are protected from being able to buy the items they need at the store they want. Workers are protected from choosing to make twice their hourly wage while still having plenty of time to mark the holiday. And Shaws is protected from their tiny, specialized competitor earning a little bit of good will from the public.
Thank God for the jackboot power of government protecting us from the invisible hand of capitalism!
LINKING TO OPEN TRACKBACK: Stop The ACLU
I’ve spoken elsewhere about the heartbreak Paula and I went through early in our marriage when we were unable to have children, and the frustrations of being unable to adopt – and the health situations that prevent either today. I will not recount them again today.
I will encourage people to note that Saturday, November 19 is National Adoption Day.
If there is room in your heart and home, consider adding one or more of the children seeking “forever families” into yours.
Since the Left seems so upset about Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) daring to quote a serving member of the US military's reaction to Rep. John Murtha's(D-PA) "Surrender Now" approach to Iraq, why is there not at least equivalent outrage over the violent actions of Rep. Harold Ford (D -TN)?
Ms. Schmidt withdrew her words, but not before Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr., Tennessee Democrat, seemed to be headed for a fight with Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican. Mr. Tancredo afterward said he had been arguing with another Democrat over some of the charges Democrats had hurled at Republicans during yesterday morning's budget vote, and said Mr. Ford must have thought the argument was about Mr. Murtha."Say it to Murtha," Mr. Ford repeatedly shouted at Mr. Tancredo while he was being restrained by other members. Mr. Tancredo said he replied he wasn't talking about Mr. Murtha and told Mr. Ford to go sit down.
Yeah, you read that right.
Harold Ford attempted to make an unprovoked sneak attack upon Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) on the floor of the House of Representatives. This is not a question of whether the words wre appropriate -- this is the takes one back to the cowardly assault upon Republican Senator Charles Sumner by Democrat Congressman Preston Brooks. No doubt he sought to recreate a scene of Democrat glory like is pictured below -- the assault and attempted murder of an elected member of the legislative branch over a perceived insult in a speech.
It appears that Ford, therefore, while unwilling to stand up to the enemies of America, is more than prepared to adopt the methods of the Empire of Japan or al-Qaeda to subdue his unwarned and unwary opponents. Indeed, he has so long been immersed in the fetid fever swamp that is the Democrat Party that he would gladly ape the behavior the supporters of slavery visited upon the friends of freedom.
I urge the House to House of Representatives to take action against the tmember who most truly violated the decorum of the House of Representatives -- Harold Ford must be censured or expelled for his actions this evening.
UPDATE: Decided to do a bit of PhotoShop work on the period depiction of the assault on Sumner.
Also, additional commentary is found at Booker Rising and The Pesky Fly, Is It Just Me, and ReidBlog.
LINKED TO OPEN TRACKBACKS: Samantha Burns, Stuck On Stupid, Uncooperative Blogger, MacStansbury, Don Surber, Point Five, Bacon Bits, Cao's Blog, Stop the ACLU, Euphoric Reality, California Conservative, Florida Masochist, Wizbang, The Political Teen, Blue State Conservatives, bRight & Early, Conservative Cat, NIF, Adam's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Something & Half of Something, MVRWC.
I guess I don't see how this can be anything other than a violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution -- and of the relevant sections of the New York Constitution as well.
A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a Staten Island clergyman who claimed his civil rights were violated when two billboards he ordered denouncing homosexuality were ordered covered up.It was the second time that the Rev. Kristopher Okwedy has had his case dismissed. After Judge Nina Gershon originally threw out the case in 2003, Okwedy went to a state Appeals Court which ordered the case revisited.
This week Gershon again dismissed the case.
Okwedy was attempting to sue former Borough President Guy V. Molinari and PNE Media of violating his First Amendment rights when Molinair ordered the removal of two billboards.
Okwedy had paid PNE $2,500 for two signs that quoted biblical passages condemning homosexuality.
Molinari said at the time that the billboards violated the city's human rights ordinance protecting gays from discrimination and that he feared the billboards would inspire anti-gay violence. PNE complied.
Judge Gershon ruled that Okwedy had failed to prove that the human rights law was unconstitutional as applied to him because it collided with his religious and free speech rights.
Hold on.
A government official, acting under color of law, ordered that the religiously based speech of an American citizen be suppressed on the basis of a local ordinance and vague, unsubstantiated fears of possible violence?
Have freedom of speech and freedom of religion been eviscerated in this country because of the hyper-sensitivity and political clout of the sodomy lobby?
And if so-called "human rights ordinances" require the suppression of those freedoms, is it not entirely appropriate to refer to such measures as conferring "special rights" upon homosexuals while conferring second class citizenship upon those who fail to accept the "gay is OK" mantra of the Left?
Oh, and for those who have always said that such measures are no threat to freedom of religion, and that quoting Scripture could never be deemed to be a violation of any law in this country, think again. This is the billboard in question.
The suppressed material was almost exclusively a quote from the Book of Leviticus -- sacred to both Christians and Jews. Have religious believers really been stripped of their civil liberties in America?
LINKED TO OPEN TRACKBACKS: Samantha Burns, Stuck On Stupid, Uncooperative Blogger, MacStansbury, Don Surber, Point Five, Bacon Bits, Cao's Blog, Stop the ACLU, Euphoric Reality, California Conservative, Florida Masochist, Wizbang, The Political Teen, Blue State Conservatives, bRight & Early, Conservative Cat, NIF, Adam's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Something & Half of Something, MVRWC.
In a disgraceful move this evening, the House Democrats forced the withdrawal of remarks by Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), the least senior member of the body.
Her offense?
Quoting a constituent in her speech -- a Marine colonel.
The fiery, emotional debate climaxed when Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, the most junior member of the House, told of a phone call she received from a Marine colonel."He asked me to send Congress a message _ stay the course. He also asked me to send U.S. Rep. Murtha a message _ that cowards cut and run, Marines never do," Schmidt said.
The Political Teen has video of the speech.
Ultimately, Schmidt was compelled to withdraw her remarks so that the obstructionist Democrats would allow The People's business to be conducted.
This is not atypical of the Democrats and their contempt for those who serve in uniform.
In 2000, they did their damnedest to make sure their voices were silenced by getting their votes thrown out in Florida.
Today they prevent the words of a Marine from being quoted on the House floor during a debate on the conduct of the war in Iraq.
The Democrat Party's message to our men and women in uniform remains loud and clear -- "Shut up! You and your opinions do not matter to us."
OTHER VOICES: Red State, DannyBoy, Lifelike Pundits, BizzyBlog, Just My Opinion, Face Made 4 Radio, The Baltimore Reporter, Two-Sheds Gomer, Aldaynet, Random Thoughts, Tributaries, Evil Conservative, Texas Native, New England Republican, Sister Toldjah, Political Pit Bull, Thespis, Brutally Honest, Jawa Report, and Vince Aut Morire, Is It Just Me.
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Comments on And So It Begins
luogo interessante e bene-organizzato. Devo avere soltanto buoni contrassegni alla scuola;)
|| Posted by Milano, June 13, 2006 09:38 PM ||Luogo interessante, Info molto importante, grazie molto!
|| Posted by Medio ambiente, June 23, 2006 11:32 AM ||Luogo interessante e ben progettato, siete buoni!))
|| Posted by Galleria, July 2, 2006 03:52 AM ||Interessare, interessare, interessante ancora: -)
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|| Posted by Multi-20/07/06, July 20, 2006 03:52 PM |||| Greg, 08:11 PM || Permalink || Hide Comments || Add your comment || TrackBacks (0) ||